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“Well, I wouldn’t have earned a master’s degree in speech pathology if I didn’t have a passion for the subject and didn’t want to help people improve all the verbal, listening, and processing aspects of their lives. You have a great voice. You clearly know the game. All your fans think you’d be amazing as a commentator. I also think you’re too young to retire and live for decades off your glory days.”
“I have the money.”
“Clearly, or you couldn’t have afforded this house. That’s not what I’m saying. I just can’t picture you sitting idly until you’re too old to care what people think. That doesn’t seem like you. If it was, you would never have reached the pinnacle of professional sports and led your team to multiple Super Bowl victories. And your Wikipedia bio says you’ve been playing your whole life. So I ask myself, if a man like this can’t play anymore, how could he lend his expertise and be an ambassador for his sport? And what would hold him back from saying an obvious yes?”
Goddamn it, she’s seen right through me. I feel way more exposed in the wake of her little speech than I do sitting in front of her stark naked. “Harlow…”
“Let me try. That’s all I’m asking. It’s a win-win for both of us. If I help you past your current challenges, then you have a great second career. If I don’t, at least you won’t be wondering what if. You’ll know because you’ll have tried. And if I succeed in helping you, then I get a step up professionally. Speech following traumatic brain injury is sort of my thing. I was looking to help children, but this would look great on my resumé. I don’t see the downside here.”
Other than my utter humiliation at being broken? She’s right.
“And the truth is,” she goes on, “I don’t think I’m ready to go back to San Diego. There’s a lot going on back home. Drama I just don’t need. But I’m not one to sit idle, either. I’ve done it for a month now and I’m bored silly. Working with you would keep us both occupied and making progress toward a better future.”
“What about sex?”
She gives me a big grin. “It could be a great side benefit.”
I’m considering her words really hard. Harlow would have made a hell of a litigator because she knows exactly when and how to press her point to maximum advantage. “Let’s say I’m thinking about this.”
The satisfied rise of her brows tells me she thinks she’s won. Hell, she probably has. But…I’d have to confront the problems I’ve been avoiding for months. Which is probably smarter than burying my head in the sand. Even so, I’m not so sure I want every jock junkie andSports Illustratedreader knowing about my deficiency.
On the other hand, what if some of my peers or teammates have been suffering in silence, too? What if I make enough progress to take this job and can use my mic and the network’s platform to give other players, past and present, hope?
Plus I’ll get to fuck Harlow now. And later, too. Like she said, win-win.
I sigh and hope I’m making the right decision—or rather that the right head is making it. “All right.”
A big smile perks up her face before something more cautious takes over. “It’s not an overnight process, though. I can’t wave my magic wand or anything.”
“How long?”
She shrugs. “Hard to say. I need to have some idea how much you’re impaired and what your triggers are. Obviously, when you’re tired.”
“Especially then.”
“And if you’re going to be jetting across time zones to cover games, that’s likely to be a lot. Does it happen when you’re nervous, too? I was guessing but…”
I shrug. “I haven’t tested that.”
I haven’t been willing to, but if being a little rattled affects my ability to find words, I won’t be terribly surprised.
“I’ll need to do a few assessments on you to be sure exactly what I’m dealing with but I have a decent idea. How long before you have to know whether you want to take this kind of job?”
“About a month. Maybe six weeks if I push it.”
She nods. “We’ll have to work fast—and diligently. I think it’s important we replicate situations that may challenge you and work on your speech then.”
“You mean therapy when I’m tired or nervous?”
“Exactly. So maybe late at night or really early in the morning, in stressful situations. That kind of thing. It will require some planning but it will ultimately be worth it, I think. It will definitely be the best way to help you progress and see where you might need a little more focus.”
A stroke of genius streaks through my brain.
“You should stay here while we work. I have plenty of room, and neither of us will have to be driving to the other in the middle of the night.” When she looks uncertain, I press my advantage. “I need a therapist and you need place to stay where you’re not hearing your brothers making babies. Win-win,” I toss her words back at her.
“You’re serious?”
“Totally.”
